Effective Saturday, December 1, the Medicaid pharmacy copayment for prescriptions drugs and refills will be $1.00 regardless of a drug’s status on the Preferred Drug List. For more information, please contact Harry Rossander at the Department of Human Service Bureau of Policy Coordination or NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) issued a letter to providers with information about its enforcement of certain dispensing limits on opioids designed to align with safe prescribing guidelines and statutory requirements.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
The Board of Pharmacy is holding its final Patient Safety and Compliance Seminar of the year on Tuesday, October 23 in Columbia. Visit the website for additional details and online registration.
Also in Missouri… the Board launched “Rx Cares for Missouri,” a community public awareness program promoting medication safety. The campaign highlights appropriate ways to take prescription medication, tips for talking with a pharmacist, recognizing the effects and signs of prescription drug misuse, avoiding medication mistakes and proper medication disposal. The campaign will also bring awareness about services provided by pharmacists such as medication management and counseling, medication review and assessment, developing medication treatment plans, administering vaccines and other prescribed medication and monitoring and evaluating the patient’s response to therapy to increase medication outcomes.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Joel Kurzman at 847-905-0555.
HB 353, requiring all controlled substances to be prescribed electronically is on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf (D) for his signature. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Tedd Nesbit (R), passed both the House and Senate unanimously. It will be effective one year after it is signed. NACDS thanks Rep. Nesbit and Sen. Richard Alloway II (R) for their leadership on this issue and the Pennsylvania Association of Chain Drug Stores for its on-the-ground advocacy.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
As required by AB 40 that was signed into law last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) established a method of system integration whereby approved healthcare practitioners and pharmacists may use a qualified health information technology system to access information in the CURES database. This week, DOJ launched the CURES Information Exchange Web Service (IEWS), creating a webpage that provides instructions on how to sign up.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
NACDS submitted comments to the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) on proposed rules pertaining to the reporting requirements for payers submitting data to the All-Payers Claims Database. In our letter, we asked that a pharmacy’s reimbursement be based on the services provided, not in any way be tied to or negatively impact a pharmacy’s reimbursement (product and/or dispensing fees) for prescription drugs.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.
Effective Thursday, November 1, the Division of Medicaid (DOM) is implementinga mandatory billing policy whereby providers must identify 340B purchased drugs on claims. This billing policy is in response to CMS’ requirement that DOM define its policies and oversight activities related to 340B purchased drugs as outlined in CMS State Release No. 161, dated October 26, 2012. This represents a mandatory change to DOM billing policy only and will not impact 340B reimbursement.
Also in Mississippi…The Mississippi Headache Symposium will be held on October 17-18. All licensed healthcare providers interested in improving outcomes for headache sufferers are welcome to attend.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Leigh Knotts at 803-243-7207.
The Department of Human Services issued a Medical Assistance Bulletin last week announcing that on August 8 Medicaid implemented an increase in the pharmacy Professional Dispensing Fee (PDF) from $7.00 to $10.00, based on negotiations with CMS regarding the SPA filed last year. Additionally, Medicaid intends to process retroactive payments to April 1, 2017. Retroactive payments will be processed during the fourth quarter of 2018 and will be received by providers by the end of the current calendar year. The Medical Assistance Bulletin states that the increase is a result of CMS’ concern that the originally-proposed $7.00 PDF did not reflect the PDFs of neighboring states. The amended SPA has been approved by CMS. NACDS thanks the Pennsylvania Association of Chain Drug Stores and the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association for joining with us to advocate with both CMS and the legislature on this critical issue.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Jill McCormack at 717-592-8977.
Recently appointed Board of Pharmacy public member, Daniel Guerrero of San Marcos, toured an HEB pharmacy where pharmacy staff demonstrated the basics of how a prescription is filled. They also administered a flu shot and discussed the pharmacist’s role in providing immunizations, health care screenings and MTM.
Also in Texas… At the recent hearing of the Joint Interim Committee on Prescribing and Dispensing Controlled Substances, two chain pharmacists testified on behalf of NACDS and the Texas Federation of Drug Stores. Jeremy Ashley with Brookshire Grocery Company urged lawmakers to support mandatory e-prescribing of controlled substances. Tomson George with Walgreens asked that legislators clarify the requirement that pharmacists are not required to check the prescription monitoring program for refill medications specified in HB 2561 signed into law last year.
For more information, contact NACDS’ Mary Staples at 817-442-1155.